Our Team – The Motorsports School

Delivering Performance through excellence

Meet the team

We are a Registered A.R.D.S. School offering ARDS Tests and Tuition at Mallory Park & Lydden Hill

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Years Combined Experience

Pete Edwards

Owner and Senior Instructor "S" Grade

Pete was always going to be a racing driver; His father and mentor Bill, was a British Leyland works driver racing Minis. Pete started driving at the age of four, then racing from the age of six, in a Barnard Formula 6 race car in the Midland Junior racing drivers club.

Pete quickly progressed to the ¼ litre and then on to the prototype class. By the age of twelve, he starting to race in Junior Britton in Karts, traveling all over the UK with his father who, alongside mentoring him, also looked after his karts. He won over two hundred races and 4 British championships, beating Johnny Herbert in the process.

At the age of fifteen Pete was offered a Scholarship with Jim Russell Racing School and stopped racing karts to race motorcycles. He began in the junior class and finished in the 750 Expert class, winning many races along the way.

At 17 he was back racing cars, he started racing in a Mini 1380 steel body, then a space framed car, going on to enjoy remarkable success and culminating in his first Welsh Championship.

Having enjoyed significant success with front-wheel-drive cars, he moved on to a rear-wheel-drive Ford Escort V8 Special Saloon, taking it to numerous wins, amongst which were a Class British Champion, two Welsh Championships and the Champion of Champion’s title.

This cemented the fact that Pete is not just a front-wheel-drive expert, but a rear-wheel-drive expert too.

Pete’s Single seaters racing started in F3 in a Ralt RT30 where, with the backing of a new sponsors, he was to compete in F3 class “B” and British Open Single Seaters (BOSS).

The successes continued until a mechanical steering failure almost cost him his life, seriously injuring his back after crashing heavily.

While recovering Pete lost his sponsor but returned to the track in a Group C2 Le Mans type car with a Cosworth 3 ½ litre engine and a Skoda Silhouette lift off fiberglass body. He won a substantial number of races and, again, class British Championships.

Pete’s Father Bill wanted to build the fastest Mini in the world, and Pete was to drive it and assist with the development of the project. They succeeded – and Pete went on to win the World Title 4 times.

Pete returned to racing in a customer’s Thunder saloon MK2 Escort BDG, going on to win the Thunder Saloon/Special Saloon Revival Meeting, lapping up to second place. He enjoyed many successful outings in the car, and it rewarded him with numerous wins.

More recently, another of Pete’s customers asked him to race their car, again with him winning in it. He is about to compete in another one of his friends’ & customer’s ex Production Touring Car Astra VXR and a Porsche Carrera Cup car racing throughout the UK and into Europe. In addition, he successfully races a turbo charged Ligier open top CN and Ferrari F430 Special GT.

Pete is an “S” grade (Super Grade) ARDS Instructor, is on the board of Directors of ARDS and is ARDS Vice Chairman.

He has given tuition to everyone, from complete novices just starting out in track days, novice-racing drivers, experienced racing drivers and on to professional drivers competing in world championships.

He is The Motorsports School’s Chief Instructor and, with over 30 years instructing experience, he knows how to get the best out of his clients, keeping them safe, calm and focused at all times.

Key Personnel

Vice Chairman of ARDS

Results:
Over 300 race wins
8 British Championships
5 Welsh Championships
1 Champion of Champions Title
4 World WFM Special GT Titles

Melanie Edwards

Key Personnel

Melanie has over 30 years of experience in various senior administrative and logistical roles, the majority of them in the motorsport industry. She is also a member of the BWRDC (British Woman’s Motor Racing Club).

It is Melanie’s organization that ensure The Motorsports School keeps running. From coffee to copy, bookings to briefings, she does it all.

As an administrator for the Middlebridge Racing and Super Power Engineering (F3000 Teams), she was tasked with creating a new company startup to manufactures race livery graphics and logos. Once created she ran the successful business, consulting with teams & sponsors like Reynard, Leyton House, TWR and Footwork Arrows F1 to create and manufacture eye catching liveries.

While working at Silverstone Drive Centre, Melanie was promoted to the Silverstone Main Office where she gained further experience in front office management and operations, marketing, and public relations.

Melanie was invited to function as the Administrator for the ARDS (Association of Racing Drivers Schools) by the ARDS Chairman. She is answerable to the Chairman (Paul O’Brien) and the 26 ARDS Directors. She is responsible for the complex licensing of over 600 ARDS instructors and consulting with the Motorsport UK, the sport’s governing body, and 13 registered schools, throughout the UK and Ireland.

Melanie is an ARDS Director and a Partner in The Motorsports School.

Gary Parkes

Instructor "S" Grade

Gary has been involved in motorsport for over 25 years – a time served engineer Gary enjoys all aspects of motorsport from building and setting cars up with his own team to racing and teaching. Gary has a wealth of knowledge that he is keen to pass on to both new and seasoned racers and enjoys nothing more than working with racers to improve themselves and their machinery, he has a will to win and wants everyone involved to do as well as they can.
Over the years Gary has been involved in club level motorsport and has won Championships and has amassed numerous race wins, pole positions and lap records which still stand today.
Gary is a qualified S Grade ARDS instructor and has worked hard to further himself, always learning and passing on knowledge is a major driver for Gary.

2000 – 2005: 750MC Stock Hatch Championship, Fiesta XR2 and Peugeot 106 XSI, numerous race wins and fastest laps.
2005 – 2007: 750MC Locost Championship, Numerous race wins and fastest laps.
2008-2010: 750MC Stock Hatch Championship, Citroen Saxo VTR, Race wins and fastest laps.
2011-2012: CTCRC Blue Oval Saloons, Ford Sport KA, Class winner in 2011 and 2012 Inc. Race wins and Lap records at Cadwell Park and Snetterton.
2013: CTCRC Thunder Saloons Championship, Ford Sport KA, Class Winner inc Race wins, and Lap records.
2014: CTCRC Blue Oval Saloons, Ford Sport KA, finished 4th in class with 5 fastest laps and 5 race wins.
2015: PRE2005 Production Touring car Championship: Champion – 12 races, 7 wins, 11 podiums, 4 pole positions and 8 Fastest laps
2016: PRE2005 Production Touring car Championship: Champion – 12 races, 8 wins, 11 podiums, 9 pole positions and 11 Fastest laps
2017: PRE2005 Production Touring car Championship: 2 Races, 2 wins, 2 pole positions, 2 Fastest laps
2018: Citroen C1 Series – Driver 4th Place Croft 3hr race – Team Manager 2nd place at Rockingham 24hr Race
2019: Citroen C1 Series – Raced in the SPA 24 hr
2020: Turbo Tin Tops – Astra VXR – Pole position, 2nd in race, 2nd in Class
Clio Cup Car – 2nd in Class

Joe Thompson

Instructor "S" Grade

I have raced successfully in FWD and have come from a racing background. Competing in both sprint and endurance series in the UK and Europe. My racing career so far has been successful; championship Winning, numerous lap records, pole positions and race wins uk and Internationally.

I am a ‘S’ grade ARDS instructor and have provided tuition to individuals with varying abilities from those with no racing experience to seasoned racing drivers, including juniors. My tuition has been provided in a variety of Vehicles, FWD, RWD, Front engine, Mid-engine & Rear engine. All in various settings including experience days, corporate development, race tuition and data analysis. My love for racing goes beyond the track as I have gained a masters in motorsport engineering, which allows for my tuition to be accompanied by racing experience and mechanical knowledge.

James Edwards

“D” Grade ARDS Instructor

James is a carer to all the team. His enthusiasm and willingness to help is unrivalled, James has a great sense of humour and is constantly making the work place a happy place.

Pre events James will be cleaning, hoovering the cars and helping with set up of the briefing and classrooms. Not to mention overseeing the race wear stock.

You will always find James and his Key box, sorting out the staff at the start of each day. Through out the day you will find james in the briefing room assisting the Briefing Instructor with flags and reminding them of any thing they have forgotten to say.

All In All, James is a massive part of the team and we couldn’t do what we do without him.

Delivering Performance through excellence

Meet the team

Years Combined Experience

Pete Edwards

Melanie Edwards

Gary Parkes

Joe Thompson

James Edwards

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